'Spoofing' scam uses Midland Health Department phone number

Upon contacting the Midland County Health Department on Friday, callers will hear the message, "if you just received a call from us, it is a spam call. Ignore it, we did not call you."

The message is in response to a recent phone scam that has been going around asking people for bank information related to Medicare accounts.

The Midland County Sheriff's Office posted a notice from Illinois' former attorney general, Lisa Madigan, on its Facebook page Thursday, warning the public about "spoof" phone calls that appear to be from the Midland County Health Department.

According to the Facebook post, Medicare recipients are receiving calls from the health department's number, with someone claiming to be a representative of Medicare.

The caller states that the new Health Care Reform Law requires new Medicare cards to be issued to each recipient. To activate the cards, the caller is asking for bank account information.

Capt. Tracy Thomas said he suspects a smartphone app was used to falsify the number, making it look more legit.

"You've got to use some common sense about making sure you don't give out your personal information, unless you are 100 percent sure you know who you're talking to," Thomas said.

He said "cold calls" that come out of the blue should always be regarded as suspicious.

Midland Facility Manager Kevin Beeson said the Midland County Health Department picked up almost 40 calls Thursday from people returning calls to the number that was displayed on their caller ID.

Midland Facilities Management became involved only because the number being spoofed belonged to the health department, Beeson said. He then brought it to the attention of the Sheriff's Department.

"Unfortunately, you can't get in front of that kind of stuff," Beeson said. "The best you can do is let people know that our health department - no health department - would call asking for that kind of information."

Beeson said these incidents serve as another reminder to be vigilant and watch for red flags when getting calls, especially if they ask for personal information.

If you have fallen victim to this Medicare "spoofing" scam you can file a consumer fraud complaint by contacting the Illinois Attorney General's Senior Consumer Fraud Hotline at 1-800-243-5377 or 1-800-964-3013.